In the past, cough syrups and cough suppressant and sore throat medications have been available as pourable liquids. However, due to the nature of the action of the various active ingredients present in such syrups and medications, it would appear highly desirable to have such products available as gels of increased viscosity to coat the throat and mucous membrane and thereby maintain the active ingredient in more intimate contact with the irritated areas. It is also recognized that it would be highly desirable to provide such a gel product which is easily convertible to a pourable liquid so as to avoid the necessity of producing two separate products, one as a gel and another as a pourable liquid. It is also highly desirable that such an easily convertible product be of the type that it is easily converted from a thixotropic gel to a pourable liquid under normal conditions of use, that is, with moderate hand shaking of the product by the user or by the appropriate amount of shear forces through a dispensing nozzle. Additionally, it is desirable that the thixotropic gel product adequately suspend all the insoluble ingredients in the product and especially the opacifying agent titanium dioxide.